Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,729 miles (or 12,439 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Whiteman Air Force Base and Shigatse Peace Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Whiteman Air Force Base and Shigatse Peace Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• Before completion of the construction, SAC activated the 351st Strategic Missile Wing at Whiteman on 1 Feb 1963.
• The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing, assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
• The furthest airport from Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,815 miles (17,405 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 476th Fighter Group, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, is an Air Force Reserve Command unit linked to the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody.
• In August 1951, SAC selected Sedalia AFB to be one of its new bombardment wings, with the first all-jet bomber, the B-47 Stratojet, and the KC-97 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft assigned to the unit.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• Named in honor of 2d Lieutenant George Allison Whiteman.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• Whiteman AFB is a joint-service base, with Air Force, Army and Navy units.
• The Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing and the active-duty 509th Bomb Wing have a unique relationship at Whiteman AFB, in that members of the two units work side-by-side on a daily basis, although the majority of the 131st Bomb Wing visits Whiteman only one weekend per month for drill.

Facts about Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ):

• Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Shigatse Peace Airport", other names for RKZ include "日喀则和平机场" and "Rìkāzé Hépíng Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) E of RKZ.
• Because of Shigatse Peace Airport's high elevation of 12,408 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,297 miles (18,181 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.